Kurt Claeys, the city councillor charged with housing and spatial planning in Ostend, resigned today following witness reports of advice he handed out about dubious investments in foreign concerns. VRT broke the story this morning
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Ostend housing city councillor resigns in wake of investment fraud allegations
Lisa Bradshaw
Published:
According to several witnesses, including in his own party, Ostend city councillor Kurt Claeys (Open VLD) suggested risky international investments with the promise of significant returns. Claeys is in charge of housing and spatial planning in the coastal city.
One witness said he was invited to Claeys’s home to discuss the finances of the witness’s organization. “Out of the blue he suggested investing the reserves of that organization.”
Another witness with the same story said that Claeys told them they could go through an intermediary in Germany or Switzerland and “multiply” the amount of investment in a year’s time.
We have seen such constructions in the past, including pyramid schemes. They are all about fraud and deception
City councillor Yves Miroir
According to some of the witnesses, Claeys suggested that subsidies offered to them by the city could be invested as could organizational reserves meant for social causes. “The proposal was to invest government subsidies that we receive in a high-risk foreign construction,” said one witness. The investments were tied to obscure companies in Oman and the UAE.
Following a complaint filed by Ostend opposition member Yves Miroir (De O Mens), the public prosecutor’s office is also investigating the allegations. “We have seen such constructions in the past, including pyramid schemes,” says Miroir. “They are all about fraud and deception. You cannot do such things in a legal manner.”
Claeys, who was also acting mayor while mayor and party colleague Bart Tommelein is on holiday, resigned immediately pending an investigation. He vehemently denies the allegations, saying that his only intention was to bring potential investors into contact with an acquaintance who could guide them further.
“If it appears that one of these parties did not handle things correctly or offered illegal products, then I would also feel misled,” said Claeys. “I can only emphasize that I never sold or offered any financial products, as is being claimed in the media. At his request, I put an acquaintance in touch with people from my network to whom he said he could offer an interesting financial product. If the public prosecutor’s office deems it necessary, I will of course give my full cooperation.”